The skeletal remains of a tiny, armored dinosaur have been found by scientists.
According to a story by The Guardian, paleontologists have discovered a little-known species of armored dinosaurs in southern Argentina.
The Cretaceous-era dinosaur Jakapil Kaniukura would have been well-defended because of rows of bone disc-shaped armor along its neck, back, and tail.
Geologically speaking, the Cretaceous Period lasted 145 million years and ended 66 million years ago.
According to lead paleontologist Sebastián Apestegua, “Jakapil heralded a first-of-its-kind finding of an armored dinosaur from the Cretaceous in South America.”
It was around 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, similar in size to a domestic cat, and weighed only 9 to 15 pounds (4-7kg).
About 100 million years ago, the dinosaur most likely traversed a hot environment while standing upright on its back legs.
The fossilized remains were found during the last ten years in the La Buitrera palaeontological zone (LBPA) of Patagonia’s Ro Negro region, close to a dam.
15 tooth fragments with a leaf-like morphology, resembling iguana teeth, and a portion of the Jakapil skeleton was also discovered by Sebastián Apestegua and his colleagues.
Jakapil’s Cretaceous age surprised scientists since it resembled a primitive type of thyreophoran that existed much earlier.
In the southern hemisphere, a thyreophoran of this caliber had never before been discovered, according to Apestegua.
According to the research, the majority of fossils in the LBPA were discovered between strata of eroding dunes.
Due to dune transport, the remains were discovered disarticulated and with a little southwestern-northeastern orientation.
In the language of the nomadic Argentinians, jakapil means “shield bearer.” Also known as a “crest stone,” Kaniukura. It is a genus of dinosaurs called basal thyreophorans.
Scientific Reports was the first publication venue for Jakapil’s discovery.
dinos Thyreophorans
Thyreophorans can be identified by the longitudinal rows of body armor that run the length of their bodies.
Simple, low-keeled scutes or osteoderms were seen on primitive forms, whilst sophisticated features like spikes and plates were present on more developed forms.
The majority of thyreophorans were herbivorous and had small brains compared to the size of their bodies.
There are various suborders of Thyreophora, including Ankylosauria and Stegosauria.
In both suborders of stegosaurs, the forelimbs were considerably shorter than the hindlimbs.
All species that are more closely related to Ankylosaurus than to Triceratops have been classified as belonging to the clade (branch).
Within Genasauria, a clade of extinct beaked, predominantly herbivorous dinosaurs, Thyreophora is the sister group to Cerapoda.
Previous discovery
According to Deutsche Welle, scientists in Argentina found the enormous dinosaur “Meraxes” in June.
The found carnivorous dinosaur has a huge head and small arms.
Four years of fieldwork in Argentina’s northern Patagonia led to the discovery of Meraxes gigas, which was given the name of a dragon from the Game of Thrones books. 2012 saw the discovery of the skull.
The dinosaur’s fossilized remains were well-preserved; the skeleton was 36 feet (11 meters) long. The skull alone measured 127 centimeters or more over four feet.
Sauropod dinosaurs, which had long tails, necks, and small heads, would have been eaten by Meraxes gigas. Some sauropod remains were also found at the excavation site.